A variety of devices convert light into a different form of energy. Examples of these devices include, but are not limited to, solar fuel generators and photovoltaic devices such as solar cells. These devices typically include one or more light absorbers. Light absorbers are materials in which incident photons can excite electron-hole pairs within the light absorber. There are a tremendous number of materials that can serve as these light absorbers. However, the light absorbers have different valence band energies, different conduction band energies, and different band gaps. Further, these materials are often in contact with one or more electrical contacts or solution contacts. The different materials can be more suitable for use with one type of metal contact or solution contact than with another type of metal contact or solution contact. As a result, it is often desirable to identify the light absorbers that are most suitable for use with a particular application. Since the number of light absorber candidates is so large, there is a demand for technologies that can be employed to efficiently generate and screen large numbers of light absorber candidates.